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A review by mbenzz
The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty's Prince by Serena Valentino
3.0
3.5 Stars...
While I did enjoy this book, it lost some of the magic the first book had. That book read like a Disney/Grimm fairy tale mash-up and it was great. It felt like a timeless tale that could have been written ages ago.
This book? It felt like the author was told at the 75% mark to wrap-it-up and it was INCREDIBLY rushed. The last few chapters of the story went by in a flash...Beast chases Belle out of the castle...Beast saves Belle from wolves...Beast shows Belle the library...they fall in love...Belle goes to save her dad...Gaston attacks the Beast...Beast 'dies'...Beast turns back to a Prince and they live happily ever after...boom, boom, boom. All this within a handful of pages. It was jarring. Especially considering this was all told to us through the three/four crazy sister witches and not as it happened to the characters.
I see some people here feel very strongly in their hatred of the sisters, but I don't mind them. They add an interesting element to the stories that I enjoy...I just don't like it when they take over a story, as they did here, and as they, unfortunately, look to do in Book 3.
Overall, I'll continue on with this series because flaws aside, I am enjoying it. I just wish the author would stay true to the characters she's supposed to be writing about.
While I did enjoy this book, it lost some of the magic the first book had. That book read like a Disney/Grimm fairy tale mash-up and it was great. It felt like a timeless tale that could have been written ages ago.
This book? It felt like the author was told at the 75% mark to wrap-it-up and it was INCREDIBLY rushed. The last few chapters of the story went by in a flash...Beast chases Belle out of the castle...Beast saves Belle from wolves...Beast shows Belle the library...they fall in love...Belle goes to save her dad...Gaston attacks the Beast...Beast 'dies'...Beast turns back to a Prince and they live happily ever after...boom, boom, boom. All this within a handful of pages. It was jarring. Especially considering this was all told to us through the three/four crazy sister witches and not as it happened to the characters.
I see some people here feel very strongly in their hatred of the sisters, but I don't mind them. They add an interesting element to the stories that I enjoy...I just don't like it when they take over a story, as they did here, and as they, unfortunately, look to do in Book 3.
Overall, I'll continue on with this series because flaws aside, I am enjoying it. I just wish the author would stay true to the characters she's supposed to be writing about.